One former SEC assistant heard the news and laughed out loud, according to Birmingham News columnist Kevin Scarbinsky.

Todd J. Van Emst Auburn defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, center, won the Broyles Award in 2004 as the nation's top assistant coach. The Tigers went 13-0 that year. At left is his wife Jonna and, on his right, former Arkansas head coach Frank Broyles. The award was presented to Chizik in Little Rock on Jan. 11, 2005.

One former Auburn assistant who worked alongside Chizik reacted with stunned silence.

One college football insider who knows both the current Alabama coach and the coach Auburn has chosen to battle him said Chizik is a good coach - but suggested that Nick Saban will eat him for breakfast.

No word on whether it'll be before or after his daily Little Debbies.

In Saban, the current national coach of the year, Alabama found the next best thing to Bear Bryant.

In Chizik, even some people who bleed orange and blue fear, Auburn may have countered with another Doug Barfield.

It's an invalid comparison, really.

Barfield was a sweet, gentle, kind soul who was in over his head.

Chizik, by all accounts, is a tough, hard-nosed, no-nonsense dude - who also may be in over his head.

Read more about Chizik's hiring and what columnist Kevin Scarbinsky has to say in Sunday's Birmingham News.